Admissions 7+
When should I register my daughter?
The closing date for 7+ registrations and bursary applications for entry into Year 3 is 31st October of the year preceding entry or when the number of confirmed candidates reaches 200.
For enquiries please contact our Registrar on 020 7603 7381 x 202 or email admissions@butehouse.co.uk
Please note that means tested bursaries are available for girls entering at 7+.
How do I register my daughter?
If you are interested in registering your daughter for entry into Year 3, the first step is to register her with our School Registrar by sending in a completed registration form, registration fee (£100), and a copy of your daughter’s birth certificate. These can be sent to us at any time up until the 31st October in the year preceding entry. The second step, confirm her as a candidate and to secure a place at the Assessment, is to complete a 7+ Assessment Confirmation Form and send in the assessment fee (£125) by 31st October. Unsuccessful 4+ ballot candidates who wish to take part in the 7+ Assessment must also reconfirm their interest and enclose the assessment fee (£125) by the closing date of 31st October of the year preceding 7+ entry. If you wish your daughter to sit for the Assessment you must have registered, completed the 7+ Assessment Confirmation Form and paid the examination fee by the deadline.
Can I come and visit the school?
We hold Open Mornings towards the end of the spring term and early in the summer term for parents of girls who have registered with us by completing our Registration Form. Invitations are sent to parents of all girls registered by this point.
What does the Assessment involve?
The 7+ Assessment takes place in January at the beginning of the calendar year in which the successful candidates will enter Year 3. We welcome around 200 girls to the school for the whole morning, when they will engage in a series of enjoyable activities which have been carefully planned to assess as many aspects of the candidates as possible. The tasks are designed to assess reading competence, writing ability and mathematical skills, strategies, reasoning and problem solving. As a guide, our assessments are pitched broadly at Year 2 level, with opportunities to extend and explore each candidate’s potential. There are no sample assessment papers available.
Please be advised that there are companies online who advertise ‘Bute House Assessment Papers’ for sale. These do not exist in reality! We are not affiliated to any tutoring or assessment paper providers in any way. Our 7+ assessments are different every year and do not follow a traditional paper based format. We advise that you do not waste your money buying these products.
Girls are put into small groups which are decided upon by their month of birth. Each group will spend the morning with three or four members of our staff who interact with the girls and aim to put them at ease. We deliberately provide opportunities for teaching during the morning in order to assess each girl’s potential and learning behaviour. We also provide opportunities for play and informal conversations in order to get a fuller picture of each girl’s interests and personal strengths. We run the assessments over two days in order to see everyone in small groups. The activities will be completely different on each day, although the assessments and tasks will be of the same standard on both days.
What will the day be like?
We warmly welcome all girls who attend and strive to make sure that they feel happy and relaxed. We ask that parents tell their daughters that they are coming to visit a school and will be able to do some enjoyable activities there, in order to avoid any anxiety and to give them the best possible chance of showing their true abilities and personalities. They will be given a drink and snack during their time with us and will be taken on a tour around the school so they can get to know us a little.
What happens after the Assessment?
If your daughter is selected to come back for an interview, you will be notified by letter soon after the assessment. Interviews will take place during January. At this stage we will request a reference from your daughter’s school.
What happens at the interview?
The interview process is made as relaxed as possible for the girls and we enjoy listening to their experiences and views. They do not need to bring anything with them to the interview. There will also be an opportunity for parents to meet the senior member of staff conducting the interview and ask any questions.
What happens after interview?
Interviews will take place throughout January. After the interviews, we discuss all the candidates and then write to you with either an offer of a firm place or a place on our waiting list. There may be some movement on this waiting list which is dependent upon the take up of the firm offers by other candidates.
Successful girls will be invited to a ‘New Girls’ Tea’ with their parents and a ‘Welcome to Bute’ day. There is also a parents’ BBQ one evening in July. All of these events take place in the summer term before joining Bute House in September in order to welcome you all to the school and to help make the transition as smooth, happy and easy as possible for you and your daughter.
Siblings
The younger sisters of any children gaining places at 7+ will only gain automatic places in our Reception class under our sibling policy if the ballot for their year group has not yet been drawn. If the relevant ballot has already been drawn the younger sisters of successful 7+ candidates will be put on the waiting list, but if there is no movement on that list they will have to sit the 7+ assessment in the appropriate year, when no sibling priority is given.
